MILWAUKEE — When the Mets needed him the most, Francisco Lindor and his injured back came through. The shortstop went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two stolen bases, two runs scored and a walk Sunday afternoon to lead the Mets to a 5-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Truist Park.
Left-hander David Peterson threw seven shutout innings, giving the Mets some much-needed length as they face a potential Monday doubleheader. Francisco Alvarez went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run and Jose Iglesias extended his hitting streak to 20 games. The win snapped a streak of three losses and gave the Mets a chance to clinch an NL Wild Card playoff berth Monday in Atlanta.
The Mets (88-72) now await the fate of the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. If the afternoon scores hold, the doubleheader Monday at Truist Park will be necessary.
It’s a less-than-ideal scenario for all involved, but the Mets can take solace in the fact that their team leader appears to be healthy enough to produce at a critical time.
Facing right-hander Colin Rea, Lindor led off the game with a walk. He promptly swiped second base and moved to third on a ground ball by Iglesias. Brandon Nimmo singled up the center to drive in Lindor, giving the Mets their first lead in a week.
Rea managed to strand two to end the inning, but the Mets kept at him. They put runners on in the second, forcing him to pitch around traffic. They put one on in the third. Finally, they cracked him in the fourth, scoring twice to go up 3-0.
J.D. Martinez snapped his 0-for-35 streak at the plate with a double that bounced off the third-base bag in the fourth. Starling Marte moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, putting him in position to score on Alvarez’s single to left field. The ball was just deep enough that left fielder Isaac Collins couldn’t throw out Martinez, a slow baserunner, at home.
Tyrone Taylor then hit one down the third base line to bring up Lindor with two on and one out. He delivered, lining a splitter to right field to score Alvarez.
After going up 4-0 in the fifth, Lindor led off the sixth with a home run to right. His 32nd of the year might have been his biggest to date.
Rea (12-6) allowed five earned runs on 10 hits, walked three and struck out five over 5 2/3 innings for the Brewers (93-69), who could face the Mets again Tuesday in the first round of the postseason.
Peterson was stellar, holding the Brewers to only one hit and it didn’t even leave the infield. He walked three and struck out eight in the win (10-3). Milwaukee tried to rally for a tie in the first inning, with Jackson Chourio reaching on a one-out dribbler to first base. Willy Adames worked a walk to put two on, and a force-play put runners on the corners, but it also accounted for the second out.
Peterson fooled Eric Haase with a slider on 2-2, getting him to swing through for strike 3.
The lefty cruised through the next six innings, facing only two more baserunners.
The Brewers put two on against Phil Maton in the eighth, but the right-hander got out of it, leaving the ninth for closer Edwin Diaz, who pitched around a man on second to preserve the win.
One more and the Mets can clinch.